American’s interest in a long-range A321neo signals that Boeing may have to speed planning for a new 757 version, says Teal Group's Richard Aboulafia, adding that Boeing can’t afford to see airlines go to Airbus for a 757 successor with it already trailing its rival in narrow-body sales.

AAL says the long-range version of the A321neo would have extra fuel tanks to boost its range by ~100 nautical miles past the 3,900 nautical miles of Boeing’s 757-200, and would burn ~25% less fuel than the older Boeing.

Boeing (BA-4.3%) has been sliding steadily despite beating Q3 earnings expectations, as investors focus on disappointing cash flow results, a metric it had said was one of the most important to watch for growth in the next few years.

"The lack of cash in 3Q and only a modest change to the operating cash guidance for the year are likely to disappoint," overshadowing strong operating performance in the divisions, RBC Capital analyst Robert Stallard says.

Analysts on Boeing's earnings conference call also expressed concern that the company’s planned production increases across its jet programs would delay a ramp-up in shareholder payments.

Boeing also said accumulated losses on the 787 program broke through the $25B barrier during Q3, a mark it had said it expected to hit next year and suggesting reducing costs on the program is taking longer than expected.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) is revising its master schedule for developing the new U.S. Air Force aerial refueling tanker designed to replace the aging fleet of KC-135s, adding to uncertainty about a plane that already has run up ~$1B in excess costs for the contractor.

The Air Force and the GAO have praised Boeing’s progress on the $50B program to build 179 of the planes, which is based on the company’s 767 jetliner, but the service estimates Boeing will have to absorb $1B in costs for exceeding a $4.9B ceiling to develop the first four planes.

Boeing says the schedule revision is intended to keep it on track to meet an Aug. 2017 deadline for delivery of 18 combat-ready tankers, equipped to carry ~212K lbs. of aviation fuel and operate at altitudes up to 43K ft.

Boeing (BA-0.4%) says the Brazilian army has expressed interest in buying some of its CH-47 Chinook helicopters, and says it continues to view Brazil as an important partner for defense and commercial projects.

Ties between the U.S. and Brazil are starting to recover from deep strains, and Brazil scrapped plans to buy Boeing F/A-18 fighter jets, but the U.S. State Department has approved several other possible U.S. weapons sales to Brazil this year, including a $169M deal for 16 Boeing AGM-84L Harpoon missiles.

The list price for each of the narrow-body planes is $102M, putting the collective list price of the order at $25.5B.

The A320neo is a new version of the popular A320 jets that includes a new engine and other devices to cut fuel consumption; Airbus has sold more than 3,250 of the planes, beating the 2K-plus orders Boeing (NYSE:BA) has booked for its 737 Max.

Boeing (BA+0.5%) says Garuda Indonesia will buy 50 of its latest generation 737-MAX jets, worth $4.9B at list prices; the Indonesian flag carrier’s order includes the conversion of an existing order for four older-generation 737-800 jets to the MAX variant.

The news follows Friday's announcement of an Airbus (OTCPK:EADSF ,OTCPK:EADSY) order for 70 of its A320 aircraft from China Aviation Supplies, worth $7B at list prices.

Boeing (BA-1.3%) says it expects its air freight traffic to more than double in the next 20 years, increasing at an annual rate of 4.7%, as cargo traffic levels continue to strengthen after several years of stagnation.

Boeing predicts carriers will buy 840 new freighter planes valued at $240B in the next 20 years, with 70% expected to be large planes such as the 747-8 and 777, which can carry more than 80 tons of cargo in a single takeoff.

Stronger air cargo demand also would be good news for FedEx (FDX-0.7%) and UPS (UPS-1.2%), but shares of all three companies are lower today amid global growth concerns.

Combined with Airbus (OTCPK:EADSF, OTCPK:EADSY), who is likely to match Boeing’s move with one of its own for the production rate of its competing A320 aircraft, the general consensus is that the rate is unsustainable; a Canaccord survey of aircraft supplier companies "raises questions about the sustainability of rates above 100/month for Boeing and Airbus” single aisle jets.

But from Boeing’s perspective, the move is understandable: There is a race to deliver the next generation of single aisle jets to airlines, and Boeing is behind.

RBC aerospace analyst Robert Stallard says he is sticking with the view that the 737 rate increase will be a positive for Boeing’s earnings and cash from 2018, and that the moves by Boeing and eventually Airbus will not oversupply the market through to the end of the decade.

But Airbus exec John Leavy predicts: "Three airlines tell us they’re going to improve their market share by 10%-15%. But someone is going to be very successful, someone very unsuccessful, and someone in the middle."

In response to strong market demand, Boeing (BA+0.6%) will increase production of its 737 program to 52 airplanes per month in 2018. Boeing currently produces 42 airplanes per month at its factory in Renton, Washington.

The company previously announced plans to increase the production rate to 47 airplanes per month in 2017.